BESTSELLERS

*--* SO. CAL. RATING Fiction

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*--* 1 White Oleander by Janet Fitch (Back Bay Books: $13.95) Her mother in jail, a teenager survives in L.A. foster homes

2 The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (Picador: $15) A Midwestern family unravels at the 20th century’s end

3 Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.95) Opera mingles with mayhem in South America

4 Flesh and Blood by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine: $7.99) Alex Delaware investigates two young women’s deaths

5 Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (Dell: $7.99) Hannibal Lecter helps a sleuth hunt a murderer with a penchant for Blake

6 Empire Falls by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class folk in Maine

7 Isle of Dogs by Patricia Cornwell (Berkley: $7.99) Two cops dodge thugs on a loony Chesapeake Bay island

8 Going Home by Nora Roberts (Harlequin: $14.95) A reissue of an early story collection about loves found and lost

9 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz

10 The Sigma Protocol by Robert Ludlum (St. Martin’s: $7.99) A shadowy multinational cartel has sinister global plans

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*--* SO. CAL. RATING Nonfiction

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*--* 1 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Ballantine: $15) How a thoroughbred horse went from also-ran to sports icon

2 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (HarperCollins: $13.95) The unappetizing practices of the junk-food industry

3 John Adams by David McCullough (Touchstone: $18.95) The greatness of America’s second president

4 Lucky by Alice Sebold (Back Bay Books: $11.95) The writer recounts her rape when she was a college freshman

5 Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (Techpress: $15.95) Fiscal parenting

6 A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer (Health Communications: $9.95) Life with a sadistic mother

7 Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (Broadway: $11.95) Learning life-lessons from a dying former teacher

8 Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins (Avon: $7.99) How a low-carb diet helps shed pounds

9 What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi E. Murkoff et al. (Workman: $13.95) Pregnancy explained

10 Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (Henry Holt: $13) A writer works in low-wage America to see how the poor live

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